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State Appeals Court Decides Alimony for Country Artist Joe Diffie's Ex-Wife Shouldn't Be Based on “Speculative Income”
The Tennessee Court of Appeals decided that the trial court improperly factored in “speculative income” in assessing the amount of alimony that country artist Joe Diffie would be obligated to pay his ex-wife Theresa. This part of the appeals court's ruling was a win for Theresa. Diffie v. Diffie, M2018-00267-COA-R3-CV. Diffie's career took off after he moved to Nashville in the 1980s. The appeals court explained: “As a recording artist, his debut single went to number one on the country music charts. [Diffie] also enjoyed great success as a songwriter. The first six songs [he] wrote went to number one. He performed live concert engagements, appeared on television shows, and his songs were a staple on the playlists of radio stations in the country music market. Although [Diffie's] music career peaked in the mid-1990s, he remains a celebrity and is very popular among fans of country music, and he continues to play concerts and tour.” Joe met Theresa in 1999 and married in 2000. The divorce trial took place in 2017. The lower court split the marital estate 60% to Joe and 40% to Theresa. The appeals court observed that the trial court found “Husband's music career had already peaked, and '[a]t some unknowable point in the future, Husband will no longer be able to endure the rigors of live performance tours.'” The appeals court concluded: “By considering that Husband would have less income in the future, the trial court artificially deflated Husband's present ability to pay alimony ….”
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|Arbitration Clause in TV-Show Appearance Release Found Severable From Rest of Agreement
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee ruled that an arbitration clause in a TV reality-show participant release was severable from the agreement. Larkin v. Day, 2:18-cv-02636. Plaintiffs Chad and Genny Larkin claimed they were seriously injured during the production of an episode for the Discovery Channel's Street Outlaws: Memphis, which is about illegal street racing. Chad Larkin claimed that he was attacked by show host Jonathan Day and a Street Outlaws member after Larkin began baiting Day per the production defendants “allegedly encourag[ing] the Memphis Street Outlaws and the outside racers to act angry and 'talk trash' to one another.” Genny Larkin claimed she was attacked by a Street Outlaws member while trying to assist Chad. Day and the production and network defendants argued the claims should be heard by an arbitrator under an arbitration clause in an appearance release Chad signed. The arbitration clause states: “Any controversy or claim relating to this Release ('Claim') shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws of the State of California. … All Claims shall be submitted to final and binding arbitration … before a single arbitrator in accordance with California Code of Civil Procedure §§1280 et seq.” But the Larkins took the position that the entire release agreement was void because it was based on participating in illegal behavior. Sending Chad's claims to arbitration, Western District Judge Thomas L. Parker noted Larkin “does not claim that Defendants fraudulently induced him into agreeing to the arbitration provision, nor does he argue that there is an issue with the formation of the Release.” But the district judge denied the defendants' motions to dismiss Genny Larkin's claims or require arbitration, because there was no evidence that she signed an appearance release.
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Stan Soocher is Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment Law & Finance and Professor of Music & Entertainment Studies at the University of Colorado's Denver Campus. He is also an entertainment attorney, as well as author of the books Baby You're a Rich Man: Suing the Beatles for Fun & Profit and They Fought the Law: Rock Music Goes to Court, the latter which is available in an updated, expanded edition in Amazon's Kindle Store. For more information: www.stansoocher.com.
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